


Just the Two of Them

by Pokypup49



Series: Meet Cassandra [6]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Bath Time, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Nap Time, Picture Books, Reminiscing, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 06:11:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11983812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokypup49/pseuds/Pokypup49
Summary: Elena goes out and leaves Nate and Cassie at home per Nate's request. This is how their day goes.





	Just the Two of Them

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Nathan Drake or Uncharted.

 

                Elena tied her shoes and grabbed her jacket. “Are you sure you’ll be okay,” she called to Nate who was in the living room. He had baby Cassie between his hands as he raised her above his head, making “zooming” noises. They were followed by short spurts of laughter.

                “Yeah,” came a happy response. “You deserve some girl time.”

                “I don’t have to go.”

                “Go,” Nate ordered.

                “If you need anything, please call me.”

                “Bye!”

                Elena shut the door.

                “Now that Mommy is gone, we can have all the real fun,” Nate snickered. “What should we do first?”

                Cassie made a “gabba-gabba” sound and laughed.

                “Naw,” Nate said as he scratched his cheek, holding his daughter in his arms. “I’ve already discovered El Dorado. Big let down.” Cassie wasn’t quite crawling yet but was a very animated child. When placed on her belly, she tried to drag herself as well as waved and wiggled all her limbs. The doctor had said he thought she was ahead of her age in movement and coordination. As she laid in his arms, she wiggled and grabbed at his shirt. “But,” Nate grinned as he lifted her up above him. “I think we can find some loot in Mommy’s jewelry box.”

                Jewelry from Mommy’s box consisted of plastic, nearly unbreakable, bracelets. Nate placed her on her back handing her the brightly colored bracelet. She giggled happily, holding it tightly in her little hand and waved it about. Nate did some simple cleaning finding a stuffed Lion that Grandpa Sully had sent her. He laughed and sat next to his smiling daughter. “Oh, no,” he gasped. “It’s a lion! What will the great discoverer Cassandra Drake do now?” He rubbed the stuff lion into her belling making growling sounds. “What will you do, Cassie?”

                Cassie laughed, reached out, and grabbed the lion’s mane tightly, pulling it from Nate’s soft grip. She squeaked in happiness as she promptly bit on the ear. She was teething so it was expected at this point. Nate let out a hardy laugh. “Not quite, Baby Girl.” He gently took one hand of hers and made a little ball and he motioned for her to hit the lion. “Right hook, don’t you remember? Bam, right in the law.” Cassie made another pleasing sound and smiled at her father. He grabbed the lion and rubbed it into her belly again, roaring gently at her. He enjoyed hearing her laugh.

                As she laid kicking her feet and biting at the lion’s ear, Nathan started to go through some folders and books. It was an ongoing process to keep things organized. They were moving her crib into the spare bedroom now that Sam was gone. More cleaning and organizing was required and Nate figured it was easy enough to lay her down and go through some papers. He pulled out an older book he owned. He remembered going through it before he even met Elena.

                He looked down at Cassie who had discarded the lion and was in the process of rolling over. He laid on his belly next to her and opened to book, holding it so she could see it. She reached out, touching the pages. “That,” he said in a soft voice, “is the Amber Room.” He pointed to one of the pictures. “Daddy found that one, but it was already destroyed when I got there.” He shook his finger at his daughter. “Don’t let anyone tell you that I destroyed that one.”

                Cassie giggled in response.

                He turned the page as Cassie slapped and felt the old pages. They had notes on them, scribbles and sketches of his mind as a younger Nathan. “I destroyed the alien species that lived in the volcano,” he muttered as he turned the page again. “This,” he pointed to another picture, “Is the Queen’s Jewels.” He pointed to another picture of the crown. “They are in London, under heavy security. Daddy has never tried to get those.” Cassie kicked her legs and laughed as she grabbed at the page. She made a happy squeak. “Yes,” Nate laughed. “Lots of security.”

                They laid there, turning pages, and Nate telling his daughter of the World’s treasures. He described the glory of one treasure to the next, even giving little stories of his adventures. He knew she really didn’t understand. But the communication, the gestures, and the bonding time pleased her. She even reached for the plastic bracelet, pulling herself towards it. Nate wasn’t sure how he actually felt about her learning about treasures and lost cities. It was in their blood sure, even his mother was an archeologist. He frowned. But he was nothing more than a thief. He didn’t scientifically discover some lost civilization for the purpose of education. He was known for destroying ancient civilizations for a few gold coins. He looked down at Cassie, her thin blonde hair, her bright blue eyes, dorky smile, and sighed heavily to himself. _No_ , he thought. _She’s not going to be like me. I won’t allow it._

                As he pulled his daughter into his hands and rolled onto his back to see her above him. He scrunched his nose. “Oh, Baby Girl! That’s so un-lady like!” Cassie clapped her hands and smiled. “I bet you feel better. Let’s go get you cleaned up.” As he sat up, he reached over into the diaper bag and pulled out a clean diaper. He stood up, putting her on the changing table. “I bet you’re getting hungry too,” he said in a baby voice as he undressed her to change the diaper. “Thankfully, Mommy pumped so we have all good stuff for you to chow down.” Cassie kicked her legs and giggled. He pulled the diaper off and gasped. “Oh, damn Cassie!” He’d seen a dirty diaper before. He’d seen just as full ones before. But it still didn’t change his reaction. “She’s constipated,” he said in a mocking voice. “Give her applesauce,” he continued in the funny voice. He pulled the legs up to wipe her and Cassie pooped. That’s the nice way to put it. Nate would describe it as her bottom having an explosion of feces. “No, no, no!” Nate cried out as she continued to laugh. “It’s not that funny when you’re on this end!” It was on his hand, on the changing table, and all over her.

                He would just wash the covering for the changing table. That was a daily or bi-daily thing at this point. He cleaned her up as best as he could and declared it bath time. He filled the bath with mildly warm water, only a few inches deep. He added the few toys that they had, a rubber ducky which was her favorite, and mermaid, and a pink tug boat. Cassie was starting to sit on her own now, and she could be sat in the tub and played with. Nate liked bath time with her. She liked the water, and he always had a liking to water as well.

                “You will need to be a good swimmer,” Nate said as he took the tug boat and puttered it by her. “What if pirates take your boat?” Cassie reached out and splashed around the boat. “You are right,” he praised. “Storms can sink a ship. That means you need to always be prepared.” He used a cup to rinse her hair. “Daddy was in a big storm once in Syria,” he rinsed her hair again as she splashed around her pink tugboat. 

                Cassie grabbed the duck and hit the water with it as she squealed with excitement. He gently placed his hand on top of hers, his giant hand, over her tiny hand, a pushed the duck softly over the water. “Quack, quack,” he said with a smile. He could see the intelligence in her eyes. She was thinking as he showed her. She was a very observant child. She was always watching, following, and seeing. As he removed his hand, her hand stayed on the head of the rubber duck. It gently pushed it through the waters around her. He smiled. _Maybe_ , he thought, _maybe she will be like my mother. She will be an archeologist._ “Maybe,” he thought out loud. “Maybe you will be an archeologist, a great one that will discover the world of the past.” He didn’t believe in setting a career for his child and not allowing her to follow her own dreams. But he did believe that with Elena’s smartness and her genuine logic, with his determination and cleverness, he believed that his daughter could do anything. He only hoped it’d be mildly in his own footsteps.

                As he dried her off, he wiggled her toes. He couldn’t be more proud of her. She’d probably never know. He’d always be proud of her. He had to thank God that he made it through the Himalayas to meet someone so special as his daughter. He looked at her little hands. They were so small and yet so strong. He rubbed her back as he dried her, rubbing her chest, being sure to rub her belly and tickle her. Cassie’s eyes seemed to flutter as she was beginning to relax, but Nate could tell she was hungry, and she’d be fussing soon. Her happy mood was going to soon falter. As he put a clean diaper on her and pulled a clean onesie on her, she did indeed fuss. “Shhh,” he whispered to her.

                He pulled her to his chest as he made his way downstairs to warm the bottle of milk already set aside for his daughter. She was already crying at this point, her little cries for food and comfort plagued his heart. He put the bottle in the microwave as he bounced her gently. “It’s almost ready, Cassie,” Nate coaxed. “You’re okay.” Cassie didn’t apparently think so. She cried out even louder. As he put the nipple to his daughter’s lips, Cassie reached out to grab the bottle. She was growing, and thus she was hungrier. She was eating more and more lately. Both he and Elena didn’t like seeing her go hungry, and he tried his best to make sure that she was full. Normally, one full bottle would fill her, but some days she could drink more. As she sucked away at the bottle, her eyes fluttered closed. He was sure the warm liquid in her stomach relaxed her. As she fell asleep, and as she stopped sucking, Nate put the bottle on the counter and rocked her as he moved towards the couch.

                He sat down with a yawn. They had gotten into the habit of napping when she was napping, especially Elena. Even when he was at work, he felt tired right around nap time. He grabbed a book he’d been reading and laid down, putting Cassie on her belly, on his chest. He put his feet up and crossed them as he read the book. One hand held the book over them, while another idly grazed his daughters back. The house was quiet, he could hear birds outside, probably at the feeder in the back yard. It was soothing to him too. Elena and he normally weren’t that noisy, but with the arrival of Cassandra, the house had a sense of hectic to it. He looked around to see baby chairs, rockers, and toys.  A year ago played a completely different picture. He smiled as he looked down at his daughter. A year ago he was emptier than he was today and he didn’t even know it.

                Nate wanted to read more of his book, but after a few pages, he felt his eye lids grow heavy. He wanted to wait for Elena to come home. He missed her. He wanted her to be curled up with him. It was a feeling of completeness he’d longed for as a younger Nate. Even as a confident and self-assured man, he still longed for his wife’s touch. It may have only been a few hours, but it seemed like it was all day to him. The more he fought it, the more tired he felt. He felt his eyes close, his arm fall, and his breathing deepen. She’d be home soon, he reasoned. It’d be okay if he just got a few minutes of sleep.  

                Elena opened the front door and first noticed how quiet it was. She looked around, putting her bag down and slipping her shoes off. “Nate,” she asked the empty air. No response. She crept into the living room where she found the most beautiful thing. Her husband lying on the couch, legs crossed, pillow behind his head. Her daughter was passed out on his chest, making a nice drool pile. The book he was reading rested on her back. They both breathed deeply as they slept. Elena did feel mildly guilty. She was almost 45 minutes late, and she was sure Nathan was tired from watching his daughter all day. It showed on his face as he slept. She didn’t want to wake them; it was too perfect. Elena instead kissed the top of Nates head and made her way into the kitchen.

               

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long time ago. I absolutely love how it turned out. I hope you do too!


End file.
